Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Stock Price Down 4.7% – Time to Sell?

The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) shares dropped 4.7% on Wednesday. The stock traded as low as $6.25 and last traded at $6.2150. Approximately 550,063 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 95% from the average daily volume of 11,006,044 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.52.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WEN has been the topic of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Monday, August 10th. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $8.00 to $8.25 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Stephens reduced their price objective on Wendy’s from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Wendy’s has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $7.69.

Wendy’s Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 27.95, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a current ratio of 1.90. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $7.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $7.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.40.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 7th. The restaurant operator reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.02. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 115.31% and a net margin of 5.72%. The business had revenue of $570.57 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $557.13 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.29 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Wendy’s Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st were paid a $0.07 dividend. This is a drop from Wendy’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.42%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Wendy’s during the second quarter worth $27,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Wendy’s during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Nykredit A S acquired a new stake in Wendy’s during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. bought a new position in Wendy’s in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Wendy’s by 57.7% in the first quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,687 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 2,080 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Wendy’s Company Profile

The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ: WEN) operates and franchises quick-service restaurants under the Wendy’s brand. Its restaurants are known for hamburgers made with fresh, never-frozen beef, along with chicken sandwiches, salads, fries, breakfast items, desserts, and beverages.

Founded by Dave Thomas in 1969, Wendy’s has grown into an international restaurant chain with locations primarily in the United States and Canada, as well as select markets in other countries. The company’s restaurant system includes both company-operated and franchised locations.

In addition to its restaurant operations, Wendy’s supports customers through digital ordering, delivery, loyalty programs, and mobile applications.